Chapter 2 - THE MAN IN 6A
Roman said nothing for nearly a minute.
That frightened Norah more than shouting would have.
She remembered his silences. Roman’s anger was rarely loud. The more dangerous he became, the quieter his voice usually got.
But this silence felt different.
His eyes kept returning to the twins.
“What are their names?”
Norah hesitated.
Roman looked at her.
“Their names, Norah. I’m not asking where you live. I’m not asking who helped you disappear. I’m asking what my children are called.”
Her expression tightened.
“Lily and Luca.”
Something moved across his face.
Gone almost immediately.
“Lily,” he repeated.
The girl against Norah’s chest stirred.
Roman froze.
The infamous Roman DeLuca, who had once walked into a warehouse containing six armed enemies without blinking, stared at an infant stretching one tiny fist from beneath a blanket as though she were an unexploded bomb.
Lily’s fingers opened.
Roman instinctively offered one finger.
Norah caught his wrist.
“No.”
His eyes lifted.
She expected anger.
Instead, he slowly lowered his hand.
That frightened her differently.
“You think I’d hurt her?”
“I think violence follows you.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“It’s my answer.”
The aircraft door closed.
A flight attendant began the safety demonstration.
Roman’s phone vibrated.
CARLO.
He answered.
“What?”
Carlo’s voice came fast.
“Boss, Denver changed. Sullivan’s people moved early. Matteo’s conscious, but—”
“No retaliation.”
Silence.
“Boss?”
Roman stared at Lily.
“You heard me.”
“But you said—”
“I know what I said.”
Roman disconnected.
Norah stared at him.
“What did you just do?”
“Changed my mind.”
“You don’t change your mind.”
“Apparently Christmas is full of surprises.”
Despite herself, Norah almost laughed.
Almost.
Then she noticed the man in 6A.
Gray coat.
Black baseball cap.
He had boarded shortly after her and never removed his coat despite the overheated cabin.
Norah had seen him before.
At the coffee shop near her apartment in Queens.
Three days earlier.
Her stomach dropped.
Roman noticed instantly.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Norah.”
She tightened her hold on Luca.
Roman followed her gaze.
The man in 6A immediately looked toward the window.
Roman’s entire posture changed.
It was subtle.
Terrifyingly subtle.
The bewildered father vanished.
The crime boss returned.
“You know him?”
“No.”
“But you’ve seen him.”
Norah swallowed.
“Maybe.”
“Where?”
She said nothing.
Roman leaned closer.
“Where?”
“Near my apartment.”
Roman looked back again.
This time 6A was watching them.
The seat-belt sign illuminated.
The aircraft began pushing away from the gate.
Roman’s phone appeared in his hand.
He sent Carlo a message containing only a seat number and flight information.
“What are you doing?”
“Finding out whether your coincidence has a name.”
“Roman, stop.”
“No.”
“You don’t control me anymore.”
His eyes returned to hers.
“I know.”
The answer surprised her.
“But if someone followed the mother of my children onto an airplane, I’m going to find out why.”
Ten minutes later they were airborne.
Luca started crying.
Norah bounced him gently.
“Shh. Mama’s here.”
Roman watched helplessly.
“Is he sick?”
“His ears hurt from the pressure.”
“Fix it.”
Norah stared at him.
“He’s a baby, Roman, not a shipping contract.”
“What does he need?”
“A bottle.”
Roman immediately reached for the diaper bag.
Norah slapped his hand.
“I can do it.”
“You’re holding two children.”
“I’ve been holding two children for three months.”
The sentence landed harder than she intended.
Roman stopped.
Norah saw it in his eyes.
Three months of feedings.
Three months of diapers.
Three months of fevers and sleepless nights.
Three months of first smiles.
He had missed all of it.
Roman quietly opened the diaper bag.
“Which bottle?”
Norah pointed.
He removed one and stared at it.
“How do I heat this?”
“You don’t.”
“That seems barbaric.”
“It’s formula.”
He studied the bottle suspiciously.
Norah almost smiled again.
Roman handed it over.
Luca drank.
The crying stopped.
Roman looked absurdly relieved.
Then Lily began.
Roman’s eyes widened.
Norah gave a tired laugh.
“They coordinate.”
“That seems malicious.”
“They’re your children.”
This time she actually smiled.
For three seconds, they were no longer a fugitive mother and a mafia boss.
They were simply exhausted parents sitting together on Christmas Eve.
Then Roman’s phone vibrated.
A message from Carlo.
Roman read it.
His expression hardened.
“What?”
He turned the screen toward Norah.
The man in 6A was named Elias Ward.
Former Chicago police detective.
Currently employed by a private security company.
And six months earlier, the company had received a $75,000 payment from an account connected to Roman’s organization.
Norah stared.
“You sent him.”
“No.”
“He works for you.”
“He works for someone who works around me.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Roman enlarged the transaction.
The authorization code belonged to one of his senior captains.
Vincent Hale.
A man Roman had trusted for fourteen years.
The same man currently coordinating operations in Denver.
Roman looked toward 6A.
Elias Ward was gone.
The lavatory sign showed occupied.
Roman stood.
“Stay here.”
“Roman—”
“Lock your seat belt around Luca’s carrier.”
“What’s happening?”
Roman leaned close.
For the first time, she heard fear in his voice.
Not fear for himself.
“For the last year, I thought you disappeared because you were running from me.”
His gaze shifted to the twins.
“I’m beginning to think somebody made sure you stayed gone.”
He walked toward the rear cabin.
Seconds later the lights flickered as turbulence struck.
Norah looked down.
Something white protruded from the side pocket of her diaper bag.
She frowned.
She had not put it there.
A folded piece of paper.
Her fingers trembled as she opened it.
There were only six words.
HE FOUND YOU. DENVER IS A TRAP.
May you like
Norah’s blood went cold.
Then a scream came from the back of the airplane.
